Chicago-Detroit high-speed rail gets boost

By Jon Hilkevitch | Tribune reporterMay 09, 2011

The Chicago-based 110 mph passenger rail network under development across the Midwest received a more than $670 million federal funding boost on Monday to upgrade track and purchase dozens of new trains.

Two of the rail spokes radiating from the Chicago hub will be getting the faster Amtrak train service starting in the next several years if federal funding continues under the plan -- Chicago to St. Louis and Chicago to Detroit and Pontiac, Mich.

Combining the two routes with additional spokes that the states and Amtrak plan to develop from Chicago to Rockford, the Quad Cities, Iowa City and Dubuque would potentially make the Chicago hub an even more vital attraction for business people and visitors coming to the city as well as provide an alternative to driving or air travel for Chicago-area residents, supporters say.

The Federal Railroad Administration on Monday awarded a $196.5 million grant for the corridor between Chicago and Detroit.The money will be used to modernize tracks and signals to allow for higher-speed Amtrak service between Kalamazoo and Dearborn, Mich., officials said.

Illinois received $186.3 million for upgrades on a portion of the 110 mph Chicago-to-St. Louis route, from Dwight to Joliet. This federal award was first disclosed last week by Illinois officials. The plan is to offer 110 mph service between Dwight and St. Louis in 2014, officials said. A schedule has not yet been set for completing the leg between Chicago and Dwight.

Both the Michigan and Illinois grants resulted from reallocation of $2.4 billion that's Florida's governor returned after scrapping high-speed trains between Tampa and Orlando.

Federal officials also announced on Monday grants totaling $268.2 million to purchase 48 high-performance passenger rail cars and seven quick-acceleration locomotives for eight corridors in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan and Missouri. The new equipment will replace obsolete Amtrak bi-level Superliner trains that have been in service for almost 30 years, officials said.

New funding was also issued for:

Design work on a new Mississippi River bridge on the Chicago-to-St. Louis route to replace the Merchant's Bridge built in the 1890s. $13.5 million.